Bus driver again sentenced to 42 months for ill-treatment

POSTED: 07/12/13 1:02 PM

St. Maarten – The Common Court of Justice sentenced school bus driver Berrnardo Oswaldo Hyman yesterday to 42 months imprisonment for two attempts of causing someone grievous bodily harm and one case of ill-treatment. Of the sentence, 18 months are suspended and the court imposed 3 years of probation. The Court in First Instance imposed the same sentence on March 13.

Hyman, 31, went on a three-day rampage in December of last year. First he stabbed a man in his shoulder with a pen on December 18. The next day he hit a man on his head with a piece of wood and the day after he ignored a stop order from the police whereby he hit the knee of a police officer with his vehicle. The court acquitted Hyman of two attempted manslaughter charges.

The court referred in its ruling to reports from the Mental Health Foundation and the Rehabilitation Bureau that indicated that the defendant struggles with serious aggression-problems and with psychiatric issues. The court considers there is a significant chance that the defendant will commit similar crimes on the future.

The court ordered that Hyman has to follow instructions from the Rehabilitation Bureau for as long as deemed necessary during his probation period, continued treatment by the Mental Health Foundation, a treatment at turning Point and anger management training are part of the conditions the court established.